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Charles Chaplin, Claire Bloom, Nigel Bruce, Sydney Chaplin, Andre Eglevsky ... see more see more... , Melissa Hayden , Buster Keaton , Norman Lloyd , Wheeler Dryden , Marjorie Bennett , Geraldine Chaplin , Josephine Chaplin , Michael Chaplin , Victoria Chaplin , Maurice Marks , Harry "Snub" Pollard , Julian Ludwig , Barry Bernardi

London, 1914. Calvero (Charles Chaplin), a once-great music hall comedian, weaves drunkenly home to his shabby flat. As he arrives home, he is suddenly sobered by a bad smell. It isn't his shoes, as h... read more read more...e originally assumes, but the smell of gas, emanating from behind a locked door. Calvero smashes his way in, finding the unconscious Terry (Claire Bloom). Carrying the girl to his attic apartment, Calvero revives Terry, then asks why she is so determined to kill herself. The girl explains that she has always dreamed of becoming a great dancer, but her legs are paralyzed. Calvero vows to raise enough money to help the girl. He goes back on stage, where his old-fashioned act is greeted with a riot of silence. Now it is Terry's turn to encourage Calvero to go on living-and in so doing, she regains the use of her legs. Hired by the Empire theatre corps de ballet, Terry arranges for the management to hire Calvero as a supernumerary. Impresario Postant (Nigel Bruce), not recognizing the famous Calvero in clown makeup, fires him. Only after Terry pleads with Postant to give Calvero another chance does the producer relent, securing a comeback appearance for the ageing comedian and his old partner (Buster Keaton). Calvero's antics bring down the house, just like the old days, but the effort is too much for the old fellow, and he collapses backstage. As Calvero dies, he proudly watches his protegee Terry carry on the "show must go on tradition" by dancing for the crowd. Thanks to the political climate of the time, Limelight was denied a wide distribution; in fact, it didn't play Los Angeles until 1972, twenty years after its completion. At that time, Chaplin's theme music, which had gained popularity on the "hit parade," was honored with an Academy Award. While the film has moments of unmatched hilarity (especially during the fabled Chaplin-Keaton teaming towards the end), the elegiac tone of Limelight was best summed up by critic Andrew Sarris: "To imagine one's own death, one must imagine the death of the world, that world which has always dangled so helplessly from the tips of Chaplin's eloquent fingers." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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89% liked it

6,419 ratings

Critics

96% liked it

26 critics

G, 2 hr. 30 min.

Directed by: Charles Chaplin

Release Date: January 1, 1952

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DVD Release Date: March 28, 2011

Stats: 367 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (367)

  • mjgildea
    February 24, 2011
    mjgildea
    Limelight is an incredibly beautiful, incredibly sad and at points incredibly funny movie. The cinematography is outstanding and the set design (namely during the Columbine sequence) was beautiful. Speaking of beautiful, Claire Bloom has never looked more lovely. Charles Chaplin'... read mores turn as Calvero is poignant and touching, almost as much as his script. Limelight is an all around great movie but the scene with Chaplin and Buster Keaton steals the show. The story starts bottoming out a little into the second hour but still a great movie. Proof that Chaplin was just as good after he started talking in his movies...
  • ajv2688
    November 3, 2010
    ajv2688
    An interesting late Chaplin film, the highlight of Limelight for me was the scene with Keaton, other than that I found the movie pretty boring, but if you're a fan of his you should check this movie out.
  • pier007
    November 6, 2007
    pier007
    bittersweet reflection on Chaplin's own career. full of his characteristic bonhomie and tenderness. Buster Keaton's appearance marked the first and only time the two greatest comedians of the twentieth century were in the same film.
  • fb1619601747
    October 25, 2011
    fb1619601747
    Even though I believe he ended up making a few more movies after this, 'Limelight' is clearly Charlie Chaplin's swan song. It could be called just as good as anything else he directed.
  • fb1360693664
    October 14, 2011
    fb1360693664
    While being Chaplin's least funny film, the tearjerker affect is an interesting take for Chaplin. Being known for changing a genre single handed and then changing your style last minute is one of the riskiest things a film maker could do. Personally, I believe that Chaplin's chan... read morege in character was a brilliant transition. Almost as if he took his most famous character "The Tramp" and changed his name. He always was one of the most talented actors in the business, but he never got a moment to show it. It's a masterpiece, and could easily be called Charlie's "Citizen Kane". But it's not an easy film. Boring at times, and it has a tendency to drag on. Not the most original film either, and even as the metaphor that it is, it does not show the cleverness or uniqueness that we are used to. But this is a brilliant film. Perhaps one of the best. Chaplin knew his cinema, and he always knew the right moments to make someone laugh. Or in this case, cry.
  • staindslaved
    July 15, 2011
    staindslaved
    A great example of a film that suffers from its running time. Limelight is simply too long at 2 1/2 hours. If it were 1hr 50mins or so I think this film would be considered a classic. It's an excellent swan song film for Chaplin & Keaton much like The Shooter was for John Wayne... read more. For those who know the tale of Chaplin's life after pictures the allegory to the film is very strong. A brave and enjoyable semi-biopic.
  • Ivan6655321
    September 25, 2009
    Ivan6655321
    Chaplin made this film not mainly to entertain people, but he created it as a personal contemplation about his career at the time, which, the same with Calvero, has seemingly lost its magic. And the ending is perfect, (not mentioning the Keaton-Chaplin sequence), a very symbolic ... read moreand dramatic moment. The most poignant scene for me is the one where Calvero is wiping his make-up after a failed show, the subtle yet meaningful facial expressions shown by Chaplin summed up what his character is feeling: sad and frustrated. One of Chaplin's many displays of genius in this film.
  • JasonDennis91786
    October 11, 2011
    JasonDennis91786
    This is a philosophical art film in today's style rather than a "deep" film like others of its time (quotes not sarcastic, merely indicating a meme). The soliloquy-like musings are a little on the nose for today's style, but the method as a whole is very modern. In the film Chapl... read morein reminisces on a couple of his old gags from his prime, which are incredibly corny and tame. At the end of the film, he does an excellent routine with Buster Keaton, not knowing if it is any good. While at first I thought, wow those first two were lame, I now think they were intentionally lame, which opens up a new line of thinking on the film. Chaplin's character sees himself as past his prime, but it is a false opinion. He is better now in his old age, making his new material, than he ever was. The supposed quality of his old work was therefore an illusion caused by the gilding effects of time on successful art of the past. This, of course, can be carried over into Chaplin's real milieu, the film industry. Limelight, then, makes an interesting commentary on Chaplin's career and the movie industry as a whole. It is also an uplifting message about aging and self-esteem - you should see yourself as always improving in life.
  • supdawg1985
    April 3, 2011
    supdawg1985
    Although not bad by any means, I find "Limelight" to be a bit pale in comparison to his other critically hailed work. "Limelight" is the story of an aging comedian (Chaplin) who's luck has run out, until a woman dancer enters his life and revitalizes him, but not without a fair ... read moreshare of both internal and external obstacles. It's safe to say that this isn't one of his funniest movies, as it's actually on the melodramatic side of things, but there are some interesting bits, particularly the end and during several of Chaplin's dreams/flashbacks. Still worth watching, but the premise of a depressed clown sounded better than how it played out for me.
  • DarthBetty
    July 9, 2009
    DarthBetty
    I think the movie is far better than what Flixster is giving it. It's such a unique film.

    And it's filled with so much of Chaplin. From his music, to his comedy, to his personal views, and wonderful dialouge and direction!

    I think a lot of people watching it will expect to ... read morelaugh the entire time. They expect it to be a "Charlie Chaplin" movie. They're missing the great story behind it, behind all of his films. What a bunch of imbeciles.

View All Limelight Reviews

Critic Reviews

Roger Ebert
August 8, 2011
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

What comes through most clearly in Limelight, however, is that Chaplin had come to terms with his life. Full Review

August 8, 2011
TIME Magazine

Intended as a tragicomedy, if not a tearjerker, it is a two-thirds bore that comes to life in the last half-hour or so, when the old-master clown stops trying to be pathetic and reverts to his inimita... Full Review

Variety Staff
March 26, 2009
Variety Staff, Variety

Departing from most forms of Hollywood stereotype, the film has a flavor all its own in the sincere quality of the story anent the onetime great vaudemime and his rescue of a femme ballet student. Full Review

Bosley Crowther
March 25, 2006
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

Neither comedy nor tragedy altogether, it is a brilliant weaving of comic and tragic strands, eloquent, tearful and beguiling with supreme virtuosity. Full Review

Dave Kehr
January 1, 2000
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

Charles Chaplin's 1952 film is overlong, visually flat, episodically constructed, and a masterpiece. Full Review

August 8, 2011
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Chaplin, as usual, is the whole show, superb in this swansong statement about his own career and the old-style entertainment he best represented. Full Review

David Parkinson
March 9, 2011
David Parkinson, Empire Magazine

Elements of self parody from the master of slapstick leave you yearning for the early work that made his name. But it's worth a watch to see Chaplin and Keaton in one of few on-screen appearances toge... Full Review

Christopher Lloyd
September 6, 2010
Christopher Lloyd, Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Limelight seems stuck in time, even for 1952. The un-ironic pathos and sentimental humanism seems almost quaint in the post-Hitler world. But that's Chaplin for you - a man who lived by, and wrote, hi... Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
April 16, 2007
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Chaplin's least funny film. Full Review

Mark Bourne
April 14, 2006
Mark Bourne, DVDJournal.com

Premiering in 1952 when Chaplin was 63 years old, this melancholy reverie is a heartfelt expression of nostalgia for the Edwardian London music-halls of his youth, rich with deeply personal sentiment ... Full Review

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Limelight Trivia

  • The 1952 movie Limelight features two legends from the silent film era together on screen for the first and only time. Which two actors were they?  Answer »
  • Who directed "The Gold Rush", "City Lights", "The Kid", "The Circus", "Limelight" and "A Woman of Paris"?  Answer »
  • which Charlie Chaplin film also features Buster Keaton?  Answer »
  • True or False: Buster Keaton appears with Charlie Chaplin in Limelight.  Answer »
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